Batmobile

[Pierre Rivard]

On 9/27/2024 at 7:20 PM, Dave B said:

And I thought I had patented that sanding drum!!!!

Looking really good Pierre, it's going to be the model you first envisaged.

Love it.

Dave B

Absolutely Dave. Lots to do on this one and the Otaki body provides a better starting point than the other one.

[Pierre Rivard]

On the road car the rear part of the floorpan is occupied by the fuel tank and spare tire tub. The race car has this replaced by a deep tub holding the fuel cells. 

 

[MarkJ]

Wow, Pierre . That looks like a kit part. Looks just like the ref photo and it fits perfectly too. Your usual excellent creation of just what you needed. I don't know why it's called scratch building. Looks more like beautiful building to me.

[kensar]

Nice scratchin', there.

[1959scudetto]

Well done, Pierre - like Mark said: looks like a kit part !

3D-printers watch out: don't underestimate  oldfashioned analog builders ! ?

[Pierre Rivard]

Now turning focus back to body mods & fabrication

 

[MarkJ]

Pierre, Awesome body work again. So clean, so perfect. Can't wait to see some color on this baby.

[BK9300]

I agree with Mark - beautiful fabrication and great trick with the styrene template for your quarter side glass.

[JollySipper]

My favorite part is about to begin, the paint process! Can't wait to see how it turns out........

This is gonna be quite the special build!

[absmiami]

Are we - brush - painting ?

[Pierre Rivard]

15 hours ago, MarkJ said:

Pierre, Awesome body work again. So clean, so perfect. Can't wait to see some color on this baby.

Thanks Mark. It should have color done in about a week

14 hours ago, BK9300 said:

I agree with Mark - beautiful fabrication and great trick with the styrene template for your quarter side glass.

Thanks Brian, many fixes needed to make this body right but I think I'm there.

14 hours ago, JollySipper said:

My favorite part is about to begin, the paint process! Can't wait to see how it turns out........

This is gonna be quite the special build!

Paint is also my favorite part.

11 hours ago, absmiami said:

Are we - brush - painting ?

Of course! I'm not worried about paint but the LeMans decals that will follow are definite knee shakers for me...

[absmiami]

If there is a spare on the sheet - try it out on some scrap - i’m using a sheet that they created for the 0010 Barchetta - carrier paper nice and thin - you mite be soaking it a bit longer than other decals - at least 45 sec …

[Pierre Rivard]

Always a significant step for me is coming out of the paint processes with a good result. This one was challenging with all the odd shapes and the unique color formulation. This will cure for a while before polishing and decals can be done. In the meanwhile focus will be on fabrication of the interior compartment.

 

[MarkJ]

Wow, Pierre. I believe this might be your best result yet with the brush. How do you get it so smooth that it already looks like it has been polished? Have you changed anything in your process as far as thinning or maybe adding a retarder?  Other brush painters would really like to know the secret to your success. Especially me.

[JollySipper]

[Pierre Rivard]

51 minutes ago, MarkJ said:

Wow, Pierre. I believe this might be your best result yet with the brush. How do you get it so smooth that it already looks like it has been polished? Have you changed anything in your process as far as thinning or maybe adding a retarder?  Other brush painters would really like to know the secret to your success. Especially me.

The picture flatters it. See below a picture under direct reflection form LED light row. Not so pretty is it? It does need a good polish. I plan a 4000 wet sand mostly to flatten the multiple small dust particles followed by a rub with Tamiya fine and finish compound. The painting process has not changed much and the best tip I could give is to push the thinning as far as possible. It will result in requiring multiple coats but very few (if any) brush marks. This body has  4 layers of primer, 5 of color and 4 of clear, each so thin that details are still crisp.

 

[1959scudetto]

Pierre, you are definitely the master of paint-brushing -  awesome even before polishing !

Great that you choose the green livery of the Gösser beer/Denzel sponsored Schnitzer BMW (Wolfgang Denzel had been exclusive BMW importer in Austria for several decades).

[BK9300]

I'd be terrified to brush paint a vehicle that has as much work done on it as yours!  Probably answered elsewhere, but why do you prefer brush painting over air brushing?

[Pierre Rivard]

18 hours ago, 1959scudetto said:

Pierre, you are definitely the master of paint-brushing -  awesome even before polishing !

Great that you choose the green livery of the Gösser beer/Denzel sponsored Schnitzer BMW (Wolfgang Denzel had been exclusive BMW importer in Austria for several decades).

Thanks Helmut, I like this color combo and the Schnitzer team did manage to pull off a couple of wins against the mighty 935 armada.

17 hours ago, BK9300 said:

I'd be terrified to brush paint a vehicle that has as much work done on it as yours!  Probably answered elsewhere, but why do you prefer brush painting over air brushing?

Not a preference per say. We adopted condo living in the city and setting a spray booth is just not possible. So learn to master the brush or quit the hobby are the only choices.

[MarkJ]

Yes, but a few more positives on brush painting are you can mix the paint to your liking to any color you choose in a pallet and brush clean up at the sink is a lot easier than cleaning an air brush with toxic fumes from the air brush cleaner. Also, you can paint no matter what the conditions are outside which for me is way to humid to get good results with an airbrush most of the time down here in southeast Texas. Plus, you can paint right where you build. I guess you could mix the paint in the palett to airbrush but it's hard to transfer the mixed paint to the airbrush. Plus, you can never get orange peel from a bristle brush. I bought an airbrush recently to paint my chrome wheels because I could not get any Revell Chrome, so I had to use alclad II which gave me not so good results. I was finally able to get some Revell Chrome so the purchase of the airbrush was basically a waste of money, but I do that all the time so, no big deal. You can't take it with you. Pierre, once you get that baby polished it's going to look a lot better than most peoples airbrushed or rattle can jobs. 

[Pierre Rivard]

A small step for man....  ok, not that dramatic. Decals are what scare me the most about this build. Mainly because I am using a sheet from LeMans Decals and these have been giving me fits in the past. They are fragile & wrinkly and the surface a bit porous (or so it seems). This car has big stripes that will need to fit compound curves (fenders). I've decided to tackle decals before committing to building the interior and chassis. So far I have the complex decals laid out and have survived it by handling them very delicately. The make or break stripes are done, the rest will come later but none of them worry me at this stage.

BIG RELIEF!!!

 

[MarkJ]

Pierre, I forgot. Does the hood open on this build?  Decals look perfect where I'm sitting.

[Mattilacken]

Great build! Delicate work on those fender gills! They must have been a Pita at some point  Great work and as you say, wheels and tires is Everything on a  build. Is it the light in the last pic that makes it look like burnthrough on the roof and hood?

Edited October 29, 2024 by Mattilacken

[Pierre Rivard]

16 hours ago, MarkJ said:

Pierre, I forgot. Does the hood open on this build?  Decals look perfect where I'm sitting.

Hood is molded shut. I'm very happy with the decals. I can now breathe easier and carry on with this build.

[Pierre Rivard]

2 hours ago, Mattilacken said:

Great build! Delicate work on those fender gills! They must have been a Pita at some point  Great work and as you say, wheels and tires is Everything on a  build. Is it the light in the last pic that makes it look like burnthrough on the roof and hood?

Thanks Anton. The fender gills were actually pretty easy to do once I had figured out a method of fabrication. You got me worried for a moment and I double checked my paint. No burn through but a few spots where my sand & polish has not fully restored the gloss level. I get that sometimes but the seal coat over decals usually evens the gloss quite well.